Crop Residue And Soil Conditioning Agricultural Implement

ABSTRACT

A ground opener that is allowed to caster in one direction is associated with a pair of arms connected by a pivot connection that allows one arm to move relative to the other arm. The movable arm is forced against the stationary arm when the ground opener impacts the soil as the ground opener is pulled along a relatively straight travel path. When the ground opener is turned radially from the straight travel path, the movable arm may cast away from the stationary arm. The disc opener is coupled to the movable arm through a central hub and, as such, the trailing edge of the disc opener will move away from the stationary arm as the disc opener is turned. When the disc opener has completed the turn, the torque on the disc opener will lessen thereby allowing the movable arm to move back toward the stationary arm.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application is a Divisional of co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/857,865, filed on Sep. 19, 2007 entitled, “CropResidue and Soil Conditioning Agricultural Implement” and having BrianDonald Cey as the Applicant.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to agricultural implements, andin particular, to a seed planting unit having disc reels that can freelycaster in one direction.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventional seed planting systems includes a series of spaced coultersor reels that prepare a seed bed and deposit seed into the seed bed asthe seed planting system is pulled, by a tractor, for example, along arelatively straight path of travel. Customarily, when it is necessary toturn from the straight travel path, a lift mechanism must be operated tolift the coulters above the ground so that damage is not caused to thecoulters during the turning. Once the seed planting system is realignedwith the straight travel path, the lift mechanism can be operated tolower the coulters to the ground.

The need to lift the coulters during radial turns from the straighttravel path is necessary to avoid the torque that would be applied onthe coulters by the ground if the coulters were otherwise left engagedwith the ground during turning. More particularly, conventional coultersare constructed to have a fixed position generally angled relative to anaxis extending along the straight travel path. When the seed plantingsystem turns, the leading edge of the coulter initially scrapes acrossthe ground and then may effectively dig into the ground. This can placea significant amount of torque on the coulters and significantly stressthe coulter or the coupling used to connect the coulter to the discframe.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present inventors have discovered that the torque placed on acoulter or ground opener may be alleviated if the coulter is free topivot or caster in a direction opposite the direction of the appliedtorque during turning of the seed planting system. In this regard, thepresent invention is directed to a ground opener that is allowed tocaster in one direction. The ground opener is associated with a pair ofarms connected by a pivot connection that allows one arm to moverelative to the other arm. The movable arm is generally forced againstthe stationary arm by the impact of the ground opener with the soil asthe ground opener is pulled along a relatively straight travel path.When the ground opener is turned radially from the straight travel path,the pivot connection effectively serves a fulcrum against which the discopener is leveraged. To relieve the torque, the movable arm may castaway from the stationary arm. The disc opener is coupled to the movablearm through a central hub and, as such, the trailing edge of the discopener will move away from the stationary arm as the disc opener isturned. When the disc opener has completed the turn and returns to agenerally straight travel path, the torque on the leading edge of thedisc opener will lessen thereby allowing the movable arm to move backtoward the stationary arm.

In one embodiment, the stationary arm carries a stud that extends towardthe movable arm and thereby provides a seat for the movable arm when thedisc opener is moving along the straight travel path. Additionally, thestud prevents the disc opener from casting toward the stationary arm.Thus, in this embodiment, the disc opener is free to cast in only onedirection.

It is contemplated that the stud may be of fixed length or may be screwthat is threaded through the stationary arm. Use of a screw or similardevice allows some variability in the amount of caster that is possible.More particularly, as the distance the body of the screw extends pastthe stationary arm and toward the movable arm increases, the amount ofcaster possible for the movable arm and thus the disc opener is reduced.

In another embodiment, the present invention is directed to a seedplanting assembly having multiple disc openers arranged in a row. Thedisc openers are arranged such that two sets of disc openers areprovided. One set of disc openers are designed to caster only in aclockwise direction and the other set of disc openers are designed tocaster only in a counterclockwise direction.

Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a discopener that is free to cast to reduce torque on the disc opener duringradial turns from a straight travel path.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a castermounting assembly that allows variability in the amount of casteravailable to the disc opener during radial turns.

It is yet another object of the present invention to incorporate discopeners that are permitted to caster in only one direction into a seedplanting assembly such that some of the disc openers are free to cast inone direction whereas others of the disc openers are free to caster inan opposite direction.

Therefore, in accordance with one aspect of the present invention, aground opener for an agricultural planter movable along a direction oftravel is presented. The ground opener includes an arm attachable to aframe of the agricultural planter and a disc mounted to the arm andadapted to form a furrow along the direction of travel. The groundopener further includes a stop pivotably mounted to the frame andadapted to allow the disc to caster in only one direction when theagricultural planter turns radially from the direction of travel.

In accordance with another aspect, an agricultural implement movablealong a direction of travel includes a drill and a first set of coultersmounted to the drill and a second set of coulters linearly spaced fromthe first set of coulters and mounted to the drill. The first set ofcoulters are operative to caster in a counterclockwise direction whenthe farm implement turns in a counterclockwise direction relative to thedirection of travel and the second set of coulters are operative tocaster in a clockwise direction when the agricultural implement turns ina clockwise direction relative to the direction of travel.

According to yet another aspect, the present invention includes amounting assembly for coupling a rotating disc to a drill used to furrowa field. The mounting assembly includes a stationary arm adapted to becoupled to the drill and a movable arm adapted to be coupled to therotating disc. A pivot connection interconnects the stationary arm andthe movable arm in a manner that allows the movable arm to pivot aboutthe first connection.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription and accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however,that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicatingpreferred embodiments of the present invention, are given by way ofillustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications maybe made within the scope of the present invention without departing fromthe spirit thereof, and the invention includes all such modifications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings in which like reference numerals represent likeparts throughout.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a seed planting assemblysupporting a plurality of seed planting units constructed in accordancewith a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of a seed planting unit illustrated inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section view of the seed planting unit taken along lines 3-3of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a section view similar to that of FIG. 3 showing casting of adisc opener in one direction;

FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of a clockwise caster of some ofthe disc openers of the seed planting unit in response to a clockwiseturn of the seed planning unit; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of a counterclockwise caster ofsome of the disc openers of the seed planting unit in response to acounterclockwise turn of the seed planning unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, a seed planting assembly 10 includes a laterallyextending toolbar 12 connected at its middle (or other location) to aforwardly extending tow bar 14. Tow bar 14 includes a connector 16disposed at its longitudinally forward end and configured to mate with acorresponding hitch, or the like, of a towing tractor (not shown).Toolbar 12 is supported by a chassis 18 that is connected to tow bar 14via a hinged bracket assembly 20. Chassis 18 is supported on the groundby two pair of wheels 22. Outer portions of tool bar 12 are supported byouter wheels 24 having an adjustable height to thus control the heightof the toolbar 12.

A plurality of seed planting units (or row units) 26 extendslongitudinally rearwardly from toolbar 12. In particular, referring alsoto FIG. 2, each planting unit 26 includes a frame 28 that is connectedat its front end 30 to toolbar 12 via a mounting assembly 32. Mountingassembly 32 includes a pair of upper support beams 34 (one illustrated)and a pair of lower support beams 36 (one illustrated) that are hingedlyconnected to frame or drill 28 at one end, and to a mounting structure38 at another end. Mounting structure 38 is, in turn, connected to toolbar 12.

Frame 28 defines a front end 30 having a first pair of aligned apertures(not numbered) extending laterally therethrough. Corresponding apertures(not numbered) extend through the rearward ends 40 of each upper supportbeam 34. A pin 42 extends through each pair of aligned apertures, and isfastened to provide a joint 44 that enables planting unit 26 to pivotabout mounting assembly 32.

Likewise, the front end 30 of frame 28 defines a second pair oflaterally extending apertures (not shown) disposed below the first pairof apertures. The second pair of apertures is laterally aligned withcorresponding apertures (not shown) extending laterally through therearward ends 46 of each lower support beam 36. A pin 48 extends througheach pair of aligned apertures and is fastened to provide a joint 50that enables planting unit 26 to pivot about mounting assembly 32.

Each upper support beam 34 further defines a forward end 52 that definescorresponding apertures (not shown) extending laterally therethrough.Likewise, each lower support beam 36 defines a forward end 54 thatdefines apertures (not shown) extending laterally therethrough. Mountingstructure 38 extends rearwardly from tool bar 12, and defines laterallyextending apertures (not shown) that are aligned with the aperturesextending through forward ends 52 and 54. Upper and lower pins 56 and 58extend through the corresponding apertures and form corresponding joints60 and 62 that pivotally connect the forward ends 52 and 54 of supportbeams 34 and 36 to mounting structure 38.

It should thus be appreciated that while the right-hand side of mountingassembly 32 (taken with respect to a view from rear-to-forward) isillustrated as being mounted onto the right-hand laterally outer wallsof frame 28, the left-hand side of mounting assembly 32 is likewisemounted onto the left-hand laterally outer walls of frame 28 in asymmetrical and parallel manner with respect to the right-hand side ofthe mounting assembly. Accordingly, while the left support beams 34 and36 are connected to the left side of planting unit 26 and mountingstructure 38 such that both pairs of beams 34 and 36 are parallel toeach other during operation.

As is well-known in the art, planting units 26 are mounted in aside-by-side (lateral) relation relative to each other along the toolbar12. While sixteen such row units are illustrated in FIG. 1, the presentinvention contemplates that more or less than sixteen row units can beassembled on a single toolbar 12 in accordance with a preferredembodiment. During operation, forward movement of the tractor causes rowunits 26 to ride along the ground, forming a plurality of seed trenchesthat receive seeds and are subsequently closed.

Referring again to FIG. 2, each planting unit 26 preferably includes aconventional seed trench opening assembly 64, each of which including apair of laterally spaced seed trench opener discs 66 (also referred toas reels or coulters) that converge forwardly and downwardly to define aconvergence point 68. A seed trench firming point 70 is disposedrearwardly from convergence point 68, and an opener shoe 72 is disposedrearwardly from seed trench firming point 70. Firming point 70preferably extends slightly downwardly from the opener shoe 72, andfirms the seed trench that is formed by convergence point 68. Firmingpoint 70 and opener shoe 72 are preferably integrally connected. Thedepth of the seed trench can be controlled by a pair of gauge wheels(not shown) that are supported by gauge wheel arms 74 as understood bythose having ordinary skill in the art. Alternatively, the planting unit26 can be provided with a runner opener type for providing a seed trenchin the ground as is appreciated by one having ordinary skill in the art.Planting unit 26 further includes a pair of seed trench closer discs 76disposed rearwardly from opener shoe 72. A press wheel 78 is disposedrearwardly from closure discs 76.

A pair of screw and spring assemblies 80 (one shown) is displacedlaterally from each other and extends downwardly from a first supportmember (not shown) extending laterally between the upper support beams34 to a second support member (not shown) extending laterally betweenthe lower support beams 36. Assemblies 80 are angled with respect tosupport beams 34 and 36, and can thus be actuated in a known manner toincrease and decrease the down pressure exerted onto seed trench openingassembly 64 to control downward force on the opening discs 66, as iswell understood by those having ordinary skill in the art. A knob 82extends rearwardly from frame 28, and can be rotated to adjust the depthof gauge wheels (not shown) which control the desired seed trench depthas appreciated by one having ordinary skill in the art.

Planting unit 26 further includes a seed hopper 84 that provides storagefor seed material that is to be gravitationally deposited into the seedtrench that is formed as the seed trench opening assembly 64 movesacross the field during operation. It should be appreciated, however,that a hopper container, smaller than container 84, can alternatively beconnected to a centralized bin or large hopper in a conventional manner.In the illustrated embodiment, seeds are delivered from seed hopper 84to a seed metering assembly 86 that acts under vacuum received byconnector 88. The received seeds are then delivered into a seed tube 90at a uniform rate. Seed tube 90 defines a conduit having an outlet endimmediately downstream of firming point 70 and upstream of seed trenchcloser discs 76. Seed tube 90 thus receives seeds from metering assembly86 and defines a substantially vertical passage through which the seedsare delivered through the opener shoe 72 and into the seed trench. Thecomponents of seed metering assembly 86 are further described in U.S.Pat. No. 6,109,193, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated byreference. In a similar manner, seed hopper 84 may also be used todeposit fertilizer to the seed bed. Alternately, a separate hopper (notshown) containing fertilizer may be used.

During operation, as the tractor pulls the tool bar 12 across and overthe ground, the seed trench opening assembly 64 opens a seed trench inthe ground. Seeds from the hopper 84 flow into the seed meteringassembly 86 in bulk and are subsequently deposited into the seed trenchvia seed delivery tube 90 at a controlled rate. The seed trench closerdiscs 76 trail the seed trench opening assembly 64 and, as the seedplanting unit 26 is drawn across the field, close the seed trenchtogether and over the seed dispensed by the seed metering assembly 86.The trailing press wheel 78 compacts the soil closed over the deliveredseeds.

Planting unit 26 can also be equipped with a pesticide hopper 92 that ismounted towards a rear end of the planting unit. Hopper 92 preferablyincludes an insecticide and is provided with conventional dispensingapparatus for applying controlled amounts of insecticide where desiredin combination with the planting of seeds by each planting unit 26.

Referring again to FIG. 1, each planting unit 26 can be coupled to anair moving system 94 that includes one or more air moving units(collectively identified as 96) enclosed in one or more housings(collectively identified as 98). While air mover unit(s) 96 isconfigured to provide negative pressure, they can alternatively functionas blower units if a positive pressure seed metering assembly isimplemented in planting units 26. Air moving system 94 includes a lowerlateral tubing member 100 that is connected at its middle to one of theair moving units 96, and extends laterally outwardly therefrom in bothdirections. A plurality of openings (not shown) are formed in tubingmember 100 that connect to a forward end of a corresponding plurality offlexible intake tubes that, in turn, connect with the correspondingmetering assembly connector 88.

A bifurcated arrangement is illustrated with respect to a pair of upperlateral tubing members 102 that are connected at their laterally innerends to one or more air mover units 96. Tubing members 102 extendparallel to, and are disposed above, tubing member 100, and areconnected at their outer ends to outer tubing members 104. Outer tubingmembers 104 are vertically aligned with lower tubing member 100, andextend across those planting units 26 that are disposed laterallyoutwardly with respect to lower tubing member 100. A plurality ofopenings (not shown) are formed in tubing members 104 that connect to aplurality of flexible intake tubes that, in turn, connect with thecorresponding metering assembly connectors 88 of laterally outwardlydisposed planting units 26.

During operation, air moving units 96 draw air through the meteringassemblies 86 of all planting units 26 to which the lateral tubes 100and 104 are operably connected. The number of air mover units 96implemented in a given seed planting assembly depends largely on thenumber of planting units 26 and the airflow rating of each air moverunit.

The present invention recognizes that certain seed types (for example,soybeans) are well suited to be planted in seed trenches that arelaterally spaced a distance equal to the distance between adjacent seedtrench opening assemblies 64 of all planting units 26 disposed on toolbar 12. However, in order to accommodate other seed types (for example,corn) that require additional distance between adjacent seed trenches inorder to grow properly, it is necessary, from time to time, to raisecertain planting units 26 above the ground 106.

It should thus be appreciated that the term “raised position” as used inthe present application refers to a position whereby planting unit 26has been translated upwardly to a height sufficient to cause at leastthe corresponding seed trench opening assembly 64 (and preferably closerdisc 76 and press wheel 78) to become suspended above the ground 106.Accordingly, raised planting units 26 will not form a seed trench in theground 106 when the seed planting assembly 10 is driven across theground 106. In one preferred embodiment, alternating planting units canbe raised from the ground 106, thereby doubling the distance betweenadjacent seed trenches compared to the distance that is achieved whenall planting units are engaged, such as described in U.S. Pat. No.7,111,566, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein. Additionally,each planting unit 26 may include a vertical positioner assembly andassociated linkages such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,111,566 toraise and lower the planting unit.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a disc opener 66 is shown coupled to a castermounting assembly 108 that allows the disc opener 66 to caster freely ina single direction. The caster mounting assembly 108 includes astationary arm 110 coupled to a movable or castering arm 112 by a pivotconnection 114. The stationary arm 110 is connected to a disc frame ordrill 116 that is secured to the planting unit in a conventional manner.The stationary arm 110 may be secured to the disc frame 116 using one anumber of known devices, such as a connector bracket or weld joint.

The movable arm 112 is coupled to shaft 116 extending centrally throughthe disc opener 66 and coupled to a center hub 118. In a preferredembodiment, the disc opener 66 is angled by approximately five to sevendegrees relative to axis 120. The disc opener 66 also carries a scraperblade 122 mounted opposite of hub 118 as is known in the art. As is alsoknown, the seed tube 90 extends between the scraper blade 122 and thedisc opener 66 such that seed, fertilizer or other product is deliveredinto a trench through outlet 124.

In a preferred embodiment, the caster mounting assembly 108 includes ascrew 126 extending through stationary arm 110. The screw 126 has athreaded body 128 extending from head 130. The stationary arm 110 has athreaded bore 132 adapted to securely receive the screw 126 when thethreaded body 128 is threaded therein. The threaded body 128 terminatesin a flat end 130 against which the movable arm 112 may seat. Moreover,since the screw 126 has a threaded body 128, the amount of bodyextending past the stationary arm 110 toward the movable arm 112 can bevaried. This effectively allows for variations in the angle of the discopener 66 relative to axis 120. More particularly, the greater theamount of threaded body 128 extending past the stationary arm 110, thelarger the offset of the disc opener 66 relative to axis 120.

The stationary arm 110 and the movable arm 112 are oriented such thatthe pivot connection 114 is forward of hub 118 relative to the directionof travel 127. The pivot connection 114 and its position allows themovable arm 112 to caster away from the stationary arm 110 when the seedplanting assembly 10 turns counterclockwise from the direction of travel127. More particularly, when the seed planting assembly 10 turnscounterclockwise the leading edge 128 of the disc opener 66 will driveinto the soil and the torque placed on the leading edge 128 will becountered by movement of the movable arm 112 away from the stationaryarm 110, as indicated by arrow 129, to relieve the torque applied on thedisc opener 66, as illustrated in FIG. 4. The greater the angle of thedisc opener 66 relative to axis 120, the greater amount of caster thatwill be available during turning of the seed planting assembly 10.

In one application, a seed planting unit 10 will have two sets of discopeners. More particularly, as shown in FIG. 5, the seed planting unit10 may have a first set 134 of disc openers operative to caster in aclockwise direction and a second set of disc openers 136 operative tocaster in a counterclockwise direction. The disc openers are mounted toa disc frame or drill 138. As schematically illustrated, when the seedplanting unit 10 turns clockwise, shown by arrow 140, about turningpoint 142, the disc openers of the first 134 each caster clockwise. Thedegree of caster of the disc openers increases with those disc openersfarthest from the center 144 of the drill 138.

The second set 136 of disc openers are designed to caster in acounterclockwise direction and thus do not caster when the seed plantingunit turns clockwise. Since these disc openers are farthest from theturning point 142, they will have a larger turning radius than discopeners of set 134. As a result, the amount of torque on set 136 is lessthan that on set 134.

Similarly, when the seed planting unit 10 makes a counterclockwiseradial turn, as represented by arrow 146, so as to turn about turningpoint 148, the set 136 of disc openers will caster in a counterclockwisedirection whereas the set 134 of disc openers will not caster. Since thedisc openers of set 134 are farthest from the turning point 148, theywill have a larger turning radius than disc openers of set 136. As aresult, the amount of torque on set 134 is less than that on set 136.The degree of caster of the disc openers of set 136 increases with thosedisc openers farthest from the center 144 of the drill 138.

Therefore, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, aground opener for an agricultural planter movable along a direction oftravel is presented. The ground opener includes an arm attachable to aframe of the agricultural planter and a disc mounted to the arm andadapted to form a furrow along the direction of travel. The groundopener further includes a stop pivotably mounted to the frame andadapted to allow the disc to caster in only one direction when theagricultural planter turns radially from the direction of travel.

In accordance with another embodiment, an agricultural implement movablealong a direction of travel includes a drill and a first set of coultersmounted to the drill and a second set of coulters linearly spaced fromthe first set of coulters and mounted to the drill. The first set ofcoulters are operative to caster in a counterclockwise direction whenthe farm implement turns in a counterclockwise direction relative to thedirection of travel and the second set of coulters are operative tocaster in a clockwise direction when the agricultural implement turns ina clockwise direction relative to the direction of travel.

According to yet another embodiment, the present invention includes amounting assembly for coupling a rotating disc to a drill used to furrowa field. The mounting assembly includes a stationary arm adapted to becoupled to the drill and a movable arm adapted to be coupled to therotating disc. A pivot connection interconnects the stationary arm andthe movable arm in a manner that allows the movable arm to pivot aboutthe first connection.

While the present invention has been described with respect to a seedplanting unit, it is understood that the invention could be used withother agricultural implements.

Many changes and will modifications could be made to the inventionwithout departing from the spirit thereof. The scope of these changeswill become apparent from the appended claims.

1. An agricultural implement movable along a direction of travel andcomprising: a drill; and a first set of coulters mounted to the drilland a second set of coulters linearly spaced from the first set ofcoulters and mounted to the drill, the first set of coulters operativeto caster in a counterclockwise direction when the farm implement turnsin a counterclockwise direction relative to the direction of travel andthe second of coulters operative to caster in a clockwise direction whenthe agricultural implement turns in a clockwise direction relative tothe direction of travel.
 2. The agricultural implement of claim 1wherein each coulter includes a rotating disc angled relative to thedirection of travel and a pivoting mechanism that interconnects therotating disc to the drill to allow the disc to caster in only onedirection when the agricultural implements turns relative to thedirection of travel.
 3. The agricultural implement of claim 2 whereineach coulter further includes a scraper blade operatively connected tothe disc.
 4. The agricultural implement of claim 2 wherein the pivotingmechanism includes a pin operatively interconnected between the drilland the disc to define an angle of the disc to the direction of travel.5. The agricultural implement of claim 4 wherein the pin is adjustableto adjust the angle of the disc to the direction of travel.
 6. Theagricultural implement of claim 5 wherein the pin may be adjusted sothat angle of the disc to the direction of travel falls within a rangedefined by five degrees to seven degrees.
 7. The agricultural implementof claim 1 further comprising a product delivery tube.
 8. Theagricultural implement of claim 1 wherein the product includes seed orfertilizer.